Timberwolves Rumors

Sixers Likely To Keep Shved, Mbah a Moute

August 24th, 2014 at 8:56am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Sixers shipped away Thaddeus Young as their contribution to the three-way trade that sent Kevin Love to the Cavaliers on Saturday. In return for Young, who was arguably the franchise’s best player, Philadelphia received Alexey Shved, Luc Mbah a Moute, and the Heat’s top-10 protected 2015 first-round pick. While Sixers GM Sam Hinkie‘s primary motivation to make the deal was to acquire an additional first-round pick, writes Tom Moore of Calkins Media, Philadelphia is likely to retain both Shved and Mbah a Moute for the 2014/15 season, rather than try to buy out their contracts. Philadelphia is carrying only seven players on fully guaranteed contracts, fewest in the league.

Hinkie was unable to get a first-rounder in the trade-deadline deals involving Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes this past February, but now the Sixers are on course to have a pair of first-rounders for the third consecutive draft, notes Moore. By trading away Young, the Sixers appear lottery bound once again, and if the Heat don’t free fall in the standings in the wake of LeBron James‘ departure, then Philadelphia looks to be in line to add two more significant pieces in next year’s NBA Draft.

As for the players they acquired, Shved is scheduled to make $3.2MM next season, and Moore believes that the Sixers will try to determine if the 6’6″, third-year player from Russia could help beyond the coming season as the franchise continues its rebuilding process. Shved’s career numbers are 6.5 PPG, 1.8 RPG, and 2.5 APG. He figures to compete for playing time off the bench with Casper Ware and Elliot Williams.

Mbah a Moute is on the books for a salary of $4.4MM for the coming season, and while regarded as a good defender, the 6’8″, 27 year-old’s biggest value might be to continue as a mentor for Joel Embiid, a fellow native of Cameroon, and the Sixers’ first-round draft choice this year. Mbah a Moute’s career numbers are 6.3 PPG and 4.9 RPG.

And-Ones: Gilbert, Nowitzki, Parsons

August 23rd, 2014 at 10:46pm CST by Cray Allred

Team USA’s roster is set, with every frontcourt player surviving the final cut. Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press reports on the decision-making that led to the big roster for international competition. Here’s more from around the league:

Cavs owner Dan Gilbert tweeted well wishes to Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins, both of whom Cleveland dealt to the Wolves to acquire Kevin Love. “Wishing [Bennett and Wiggins] nothing but the best this season and beyond,” read Gilbert’s tweet. “Two class acts who both have bright futures in our league.”
In an interview on 105.3 FM The Fan, Mavs owner Mark Cuban said that Dirk Nowitzki re-signed at a discount rate without the assurance that Dallas would net any particular free agent with the savings (transcription via The Dallas Morning News). “Dirk is the man. It wasn’t that type of conversation at all,” said Cuban. “Dirk and I sit and talk about all of this stuff. He knows the strategy, what we’re trying to do, why we’re doing it. He realizes that if he [hadn’t taken a discount] the chances of him being in a championship position weren’t nearly as good.”
Cuban also said he isn’t concerned about Chandler Parsons‘ increasingly high-profile lifestyle after signing his huge contract. “Every guy who is good goes through that though because you go off your rookie contract and if you’re good, you’re getting paid,” said the Mavs owner. “I think it’s rare to find a guy who takes the money and is out. I think in Chandler’s case in talking to him, he wants to prove that he’s worth it. He’s working his butt off to do it. You never know until you know. It’s not like he was only good for one or two years, he was good for three years.”

Wolves Notes: Trade Reactions

August 23rd, 2014 at 9:07pm CST by Cray Allred

Ben Golliver of SI.com grades out the Kevin Love blockbuster trade, giving the Wolves a lower score than either the Cavs or Sixers. Meanwhile, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun sees Minnesota as the clear victor of the trade, and Philadelphia the biggest loser. Plenty more will be written about the trade as the teams and players involved meet, exceed, or fall short of shifting expectations. Here’s a roundup of some early reactions:

At the press conference addressing the trade (video link), Wolves president of basketball ops Flip Saunders said that he was prepared to enter the season without trading away Love if he hadn’t received an offer that would significantly benefit Minnesota.
Saunders added that he believes the Wolves now have an exciting identity with the reconstructed roster. “We’ve all of a sudden become athletic, exciting and fast, instead of being maybe a little bit slower and more plodding,” said Saunders. Trade acquisition Andrew Wiggins pairs with fellow lottery pick Zach LaVine as two of the most elite athletes to be drafted in recent years.
GM Milt Newton summed up how Minnesota was able to acquire such a large package for Love to Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (Twitter link). “They realized we weren’t going to give him away,” said Newton.
J.A. Adande of ESPN.com writes that the Wolves have escaped the dregs of NBA mediocrity with the Love deal, giving themselves a chance to build a stronger future than they might have had with Love in town.
Since the Wolves aren’t likely to make the playoffs with Thaddeus Young replacing Love in the starting lineup this season, Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune thinks it was a mistake for Saunders to send the 2015 first-round draft pick they could have netted from the Cavs to the Sixers. Minnesota will likely still be rebuilding next season, and would be better served acquiring more young talent, surmises Souhan.

And-Ones: Wiggins, Shved, Mbah a Moute

August 23rd, 2014 at 4:50pm CST by Charlie Adams

Now that Andrew Wiggins is in Minnesota, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com thinks there’s a decent shot the Kansas product ends up winning Rookie of the Year. Howard-Cooper didn’t like Wiggins’ chances to take in the award as a member of the stacked Cavs but sees him as one of the five most likely candidates as a result of his move to Minnesota. Here’s more from around the NBA:

It’s unlikely that the Sixers buy out the recently acquired contracts of Alexey Shved and Luc Mbah a Moute, a source tells Tom Moore of Calkins Media (Twitter links). The duo was shipped to Philly in the Kevin Love deal.
Acquiring Wiggins is an important step in the right direction, but Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com identifies the needs he thinks the Wolves should address if they want to become true title contenders one day (Insider link).
The Wolves are close to bringing a Canadian player into training camp, says Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (on Twitter), but he doesn’t specifically identify who that player is. Brady Heslip, a Canadian out of Baylor, played on Minnesota’s Summer League squad and could be the player being referenced, but that’s just my own speculation.
Chris Andersen is disappointed that LeBron James isn’t returning to the Heat, but the four-time MVP’s decision to leave Miami didn’t affect Andersen’s plans to return to South Beach, as he explains to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel.

Wolves Notes: Love, Cavs, Bennett, Young

August 23rd, 2014 at 2:50pm CST by Charlie Adams

The “Summer of Love” has finally concluded, with Kevin Love officially being shipped to the Cavs after months of rumors and speculation. Plenty of new details and strong reactions to the blockbuster deal have emerged, so let’s have a look at the latest on the Wolves..

Prior to the two teams reaching an agreement, the Wolves gave Cavs owner Dan Gilbert permission to meet with Love during Summer League play, reveals Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter).
The Wolves regularly fielded calls from the Cavs front office, who frequently inquired about the availability of Love, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. In all, more than 12 teams made an offer for the former Wolves All-Star, according to Windhorst.
Flip Saunders reiterated in a press conference that it was a difficult decision to move Love, but explained that any player can be traded if the return has a net benefit on either the short- or long-term quality of the team (video link).
Early reports suggested Anthony Bennett would be heading to the Sixers in the Love deal, but Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune dismisses such a scenario would’ve occured, saying Saunders wouldn’t have agreed to move Bennett in exchange for Thaddeus Young (video link).
Chip Scoggins of the Star Tribune provides an overview of Love’s tenure in Minnesota and breaks down the various character issues that the big man has been accused of carrying.
It could be the beginning of a new era in Minnesota, opines Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders, who thinks that the young and athletic core of the Timberwolves should provide for exciting basketball in upcoming seasons.

Cavs Officially Acquire Kevin Love

August 23rd, 2014 at 1:07pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavaliers have officially acquired Kevin Love in a three-team deal that’s the blockbuster trade of the summer, the Wolves announced. The Wolves receive Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett from Cleveland and Thaddeus Young from the Sixers as part of the deal, while Philadelphia comes away with Luc Mbah a Moute and Alexey Shved from Minnesota and the Heat’s 2015 first-round pick from Cleveland. The agreement has reportedly been in place for weeks, but the inclusion of Wiggins kept it from becoming official until today. That’s because Wiggins, this year’s No. 1 overall draft pick, couldn’t be traded within 30 days after the Cavs signed him to his rookie scale contract on July 24th.

Love is the only asset going Cleveland’s way in the deal, but the Second-Team All-NBA power forward is the centerpiece of the trade. He joins LeBron James as the marquee additions for Cleveland in a landmark offseason, one that’s left them the favorites to win the Eastern Conference championship after four straight seasons outside the playoffs. Love is expected to opt out of his contract next summer after making more than $15.7MM this season, but the Cavs will have his Bird Rights and are heavy favorites to re-sign him, just as they are with James, who also possesses a player option for 2015/16. Love’s ability to hit free agency in 2015 helped precipitate the trade, as he’s made it clear that he had no intention of staying with Minnesota beyond the coming season.

The Warriors, Bulls, Celtics, Nuggets, Lakers, Kings, Knicks, Rockets, Wizards and Suns have all been linked to Love in various reports at one point or another since mid-May, when the Wolves ramped up their efforts to trade him. It appeared even before James decided to sign with Cleveland that Love would like to join the Cavs if it meant he could play with James, and James reportedly reached out to Love to reciprocate his interest in becoming teammates. The Warriors appeared to come closest to beating out Cleveland for Love, but Golden State’s unwillingness to include Klay Thompson left the sides at a stalemate, particularly once the Cavs relented to Minnesota’s insistence that Wiggins be part of any deal that would ship Love to Cleveland.

Still, others made strong pushes, including the Celtics, particularly in the wake of Love’s weekend visit to Boston around the beginning of June, but the Wolves showed disinterest in dealing with the C’s. The Suns reportedly made a call Friday to see if Minnesota would send Love their way in a sign-and-trade arrangement involving Eric Bledsoe, but the Wolves were unmoved.

Wiggins is the marquee attraction for Minnesota, and he joins Chris Webber as the only No. 1 overall picks since the merger to change teams before playing a single regular season game for the franchises that drafted them. Wiggins had a somewhat disappointing season at Kansas after having been the consensus favorite a year ago to become the top pick, creating doubt that lingered almost until the draft began about whether he, fellow Jayhawk Joel Embiid, or Jabari Parker would go No. 1 overall. Still, Wiggins possesses superstar potential, some of which he put on display in the summer league last month, when he showed off his athleticism as part of Cleveland’s squad.

There were conflicting reports about whether Bennett would join Wiggins in heading to Minnesota or be rerouted to Philadelphia, but it became clear on Thursday that Bennett would become a Timberwolf. Bennett’s performance as a rookie was thoroughly underwhelming and he’ll have a tough time living up to having been the No. 1 overall pick in 2013. Still, there’s hope that he can become a key component on a winning team after having been widely projected as a mid-lottery selection before the Cavs surprisingly took him with the top pick.

The Wolves have reportedly been enamored with Young for a while, and they’ll have a chance to plug him into the starting lineup as Love’s replacement at power forward for at least one season. Young, like Love, can opt out of his contract and become a free agent next summer, but he probably wouldn’t draw nearly as many suitors, and he’s never expressed unwillingness to play in Minnesota. Young will make more than $9.4MM this season, and if he opts in, he’ll receive almost $10MM in 2015/16.

The Sixers, having shed other well-paid veterans in an aggressive rebuilding effort over the past 15 months or so, had reportedly sought a future first-round pick for Young in advance of the trade deadline in February, so this deal facilitates that apparent desire. The Heat’s 2015 first-round pick that’s coming from the Cavs is protected for the top 10 picks the next two years, but it would become unprotected for 2017, according to RealGM. In a coincidental twist, the Heat originally traded that pick to Cleveland in the sign-and-trade that brought LeBron to Miami in 2010.

Philadelphia also reaps Mbah a Moute, who’s already close with Embiid, whom the Sixers drafted third overall in June. Mbah a Moute has mentored Embiid, a fellow native of Cameroon. Mbah a Moute is on the books at nearly $4.4MM for the upcoming season, but he, like Shved, who’ll make nearly $3.3MM, is on an expiring contract, ensuring the Sixers won’t be stuck with their salaries past next summer. That wouldn’t have been the case with Young, who might have opted in.

The Wolves had sought to unload Mbah a Moute, Shved, as well as J.J. Barea, all of whom are on fairly player-friendly deals. Minnesota can create a trade exception worth $4,644,503 as part of the transaction, with the figure equivalent to the difference between Love’s salary and the combined salaries of Wiggins and Bennett. The trade appears to leave the Wolves with a haul that’s about as impressive as possible for a team that’s surrendering the only established superstar in the deal, and most Hoops Rumors readers gave the team high marks for the package it’s receiving.

The move drops Cleveland’s roster count by one, to 17, while the Sixers net one more player to reach a total of 15. Still, Philadelphia is carrying only seven players on fully guaranteed contracts, fewer than every other team in the league. Minnesota remains at 15 players, all of whom have fully guaranteed deals, meaning the Wolves are no closer to creating an opening for second-round pick Glenn Robinson III, as they’ve hoped to do, or finding a spot for Dante Cunningham, with whom talks have picked up.

Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports originally reported that Cleveland and Minnesota had an agreement in principle. Mark Perner of the Philadelphia Daily News wrote of the Sixers’ involvement in the swap and Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune nailed down the final structure of the trade. Wojnarowski also noted Minnesota’s interest in unloading Mbah a Moute, Shved and Barea. Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter links), Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (Twitter links), Dan Barreiro of KFAN Sports Radio (Twitter link) and Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (Twitter link) provided additional detail.

Cavs To Acquire Kevin Love

August 23rd, 2014 at 12:40pm CST by Chuck Myron

AUGUST 23RD, 12:40pm: The teams have completed their trade call with the league, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link), so an official announcement is expected to come shortly.

10:28am: A source close to Stein says the teams will make it one three-way swap rather than two separate trades, as long as there aren’t any last-minute changes (Twitter link).

AUGUST 22ND, 8:48am: The latest dispatch from Marc Stein of ESPN.com indicates that the arrangement could turn out to be two separate deals after all, and Wojnarowski appears to suggest the same in his story. Sam Amick of USA Today casts it as one three-team swap, however, which puts him in accordance with Zgoda’s report from late Thursday. In any case, it appears clear that Love will end up in Cleveland, Wiggins, Bennett and Young will head to Minnesota, and Mbah a Moute, Shved and the Heat’s 2015 first-round pick are destined for Philadelphia.

11:08pm: The three-team deal will be finalized on Saturday, the day the 30-day restriction on trading Wiggins expires, Zgoda reports. Zgoda confirms the previously-reported specifics of the deal and adds that the Wolves will also receive a trade exception believed to be worth at least $4 million. The deal will be announced on Saturday after the completion of a call with the league office.

3:08pm: It’ll go down as a three-team deal, rather than one separate transaction involving Love and another involving Young, as Dan Barreiro of KFAN Sports Radio and Krawczynski both expect (Twitter link). Based on the most recent reports, that wound send Love to the Cavs, while the Wolves would get Young, Wiggins and Bennett, with the Sixers set to receive Mbah a Moute, Shved, and the 2015 first-round draft pick that Cleveland had acquired from the Heat.

2:40pm: The Wolves are in line to send Mbah a Moute and Shved to the Sixers, according to Zgoda (Twitter link). The Star Tribune scribe wrote a few weeks ago that the Wolves wanted to send Barea to Philadelphia, but Zgoda clarifies today that Barea isn’t part of the arrangement. Zgoda also speculated earlier this month that Shabazz Muhammad could be a part of the deal, but it’s “highly unlikely” that Muhammad will be involved, Wolfson tweets.

12:09pm: Three sources tell Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun that Young will go to the Wolves but Bennett won’t be heading to the Sixers, advancing the earlier reports (Twitter links).

12:00pm: The belief around the league is that Young will wind up with Minnesota, according to Wolfson (Twitter link).

AUGUST 21ST, 8:46am: Sixers GM Sam Hinkie wants to acquire the first-rounder that the Cavs are shipping out in the deal, Zgoda tweets. Zgoda wrote a few weeks ago that the Wolves hoped to send that pick, likely the Heat’s 2015 first-round selection as we noted below, to Philly as part of a package for Young, so it seems a fair bet that the pick winds up with the Sixers.

AUGUST 20TH: Zgoda casts doubt on the notion that Bennett will end up with the Sixers as part of the deal (Twitter link). That would suggest that Bennett isn’t heading to Philadelphia any time soon as part of a separate transaction, as I explained.

AUGUST 8TH: 2:22pm: Young says the Sixers haven’t given him or agent Jim Tanner any notification that he’ll be traded, as Lynam writes in her full piece.

10:54am: Young tells Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com that, “I have not been traded,” though that could be a matter of semantics, as no trade is yet official (Twitter link).

9:16am: Fellow Daily News scribe Bob Cooney seconds the news that Young is headed to Minnesota and Bennett will go to Philadelphia, but he suggests the move will take place as a separate transaction (Twitter link). Still, it would make more sense if it were part of the Love trade, since the salaries in a standalone Young-Bennett swap wouldn’t meet the NBA’s salary-matching requirements.

FRIDAY, 8:08am: The Sixers will indeed be a part of the deal, as they’ll acquire Bennett from the Cavs and send Young to the Wolves, a source tells Mark Perner of the Philadelphia Daily News. Bennett will give Philadelphia three of the top 11 picks from the 2013 draft, joining Nerlens Noel and reigning Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams. Young figures to slide in as Love’s replacement at power forward in Minnesota, though he has the chance to opt out and hit free agency in 2015, just like Love.

THURSDAY, 2:58pm: John Lucas III, whom the Cavs acquired from the Jazz last month, isn’t a part of the Love trade as it stands, but there’s a decent chance Cleveland will send him out in the deal with the Wolves, tweets USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt.

12:51pm: The potential that a third team becomes involved still exists, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (Twitter link). Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune suggested earlier today that the possibility remained in play. The Wolves continue to work with the Sixers, Krawczynski also tweets, and Zgoda outlined what Minnesota would want to accomplish in a arrangement that would net them Thaddeus Young, as we passed along.

12:35pm: The protected 2015 first-rounder going to Minnesota will likely be the Heat’s pick, Wojnarowski tweets. Miami owes that selection to the Cavs from the LeBron James sign-and-trade in 2010, according to RealGM.

11:56am: There’s no agreement regarding a new max deal for Love, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Berger hears from two sources who suggest that Love will wait to see what James does with his ability to hit free agency next summer.

8:26am: The Wolves and Cavs have reached an agreement in principle on a deal that will send Kevin Love to the Cavs for Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and a protected 2015 first-round pick, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Cleveland is doing the deal with a firm commitment from Love that he will opt out of his contract next summer and re-sign with the team for the max, Wojnarowski adds. Surprisingly, there’s no third team involved, in spite of a string of rumors indicating that the Wolves were high on acquiring Thaddeus Young from the Sixers. The swap can’t become official until August 23rd, the first day following the 30-day period in which the Cavs are barred from trading Wiggins after signing him to his rookie scale contract.

The teams had agreed to the precise terms weeks ago, but the Cavs and Wolves are staying silent until they can formalize the trade, sources tell Wojnarowski. The Cavs feared the Bulls would instead trade for Love and block the path to the Eastern Conference title, and that helped prompt Cleveland to close on the deal, Wojnarowski hears. That’s in spite of Chicago’s last formal offer having come before the draft in June, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). That conflicts with a report from late July that indicated that the Bulls had offered Taj Gibson, Nikola Mirotic and Doug McDermott. Chicago stayed in contact with the Wolves, but the Bulls understood that when the Cavs made Wiggins available, it would have required them to make too strong an offer to compete, Johnson adds (on Twitter).

Cavs officials were also cognizant that it would be difficult for them to clear the cap space necessary to sign Love as a free agent next summer without his Bird rights, according to Wojnarowski. The trade will allow Cleveland to have those Bird rights, which will let the team exceed the cap to re-sign him.

The Wolves had sought to unload some of their player-friendly contracts in a Love trade, and they still hold out hope of parting with J.J. Barea, Luc Mbah a Moute and Alexey Shved in subsequent moves, according to Wojnarowski. Minnesota is also still trying to acquire Young from the Sixers, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, but it’s unclear if the efforts are related at this point.

The agreement ends more than two months of intense Love-related rumors after Love made it clear to the Wolves that he would hit free agency next summer and Minnesota began to seriously consider trades. The Bulls and Warriors appeared at the top of Love’s list of preferred destinations at that point. Golden State remained a prime contender for weeks, but their decision against including Klay Thompson in a deal appears to have scuttled any chance Love would end up in the Bay Area. Love made a high-profile visit to Boston around the first of June, but Minnesota wasn’t interested in any assets the Celtics had to offer.

Love reportedly made Cleveland his top choice following the return of LeBron James to the Cavs, and even before the four-time MVP left Miami, Love indicated that he would be 100% on board with joining the Cavs if James were also on the team. James reportedly reached out to Love to tell him he’d like for them to play together in Cleveland and appeared to signal to Cavs management that he wanted them to trade for the All-Star power forward. James conspicuously left Wiggins’ name out of the essay he co-authored with Lee Jenkins of SI.com when he announced his decision to return to Cleveland.

The addition of Love, a 25-year-old three-time All-Star, puts the Cavs squarely in the title race this season. Just as the trade can’t be finalized until August 23rd, Love’s commitment to sign a five-year max contract with the team next summer can’t be official until next July, so much of the arrangement relies on everyone involved keeping their word. James can opt out of his deal with the Cavs and hit free agency next summer, too, so there are few concrete certainties. Still, it appears the Cavs are well-positioned for the future even as they relinquish consecutive No. 1 overall draft selections in Wiggins and Bennett. Wiggins, in particular, makes parting with Love easier to swallow for Minnesota, and his vast potential means there’s a decent chance the Wolves will ultimately emerge with a better return for having traded a superstar than any other team to have done so.

The Nuggets, Suns, Lakers, Rockets, Kings, Knicks, and Wizards were among the other teams connected to Love throughout the process, but the Cavs had emerged as clear front-runners in recent weeks. Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com suggested in a radio appearance a few days ago that Cleveland and Minnesota had a handshake agreement in place. The vast majority of Hoops Rumors readers who voted in our poll even before Windhorst’s comments believed Love would be with the Cavaliers by the start of the season.

Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images.

Western Notes: Wolves, Cuban, Young

August 23rd, 2014 at 12:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Analysts have mixed opinions about whether or not Wolves President of Basketball Operations Flip Saunders is getting the best possible return for Love, writes Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune. The deal will only be as good as Andrew Wiggins‘ development becomes, opines Youngblood.

Here’s more from around the league:

The crew over at Basketball Insiders (video link) discuss the Love trade, and what it means for all the teams involved.
It will be a few seasons before a clear winner in the Love trade is determined, but Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders discusses the possible outcomes for each team involved.
Thaddeus Young is facing another long season of losing, this time with the Wolves, writes Mike Sielski of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban wanted to best Rockets GM Daryl Morey in free agency this offseason, he relayed in an interview with Dallas’ KRLD-FM 105.3 (hat tip to the Dallas Morning News). Cuban said, “Oh, all good business is personal. Trust me, there’s nobody more competitive than me. Every bit of me wanted to kick his [expletive deleted] and I would have felt bad. Obviously they got Dwight Howard a couple of years ago. Yeah, I wanted to beat him. And that’s a compliment to him. Daryl is very smart. It was very much like a game of chess.”
Cuban also weighed in on the Rockets inquiries about acquiring Dirk Nowitzki. Cuban said, “I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ He asked if we’d trade Dirk. At first I thought it was taunting, but now knowing more about Daryl I don’t think it was in hindsight. That’s just not his style. It says a lot about their approach more than anything else. They just have a different understanding and approach to chemistry than we do. Some teams, and that’s not just the Rockets, just put together talent and the talent takes care of itself. We think chemistry matters. When Carmelo came to visit us, there was no chance that we were going to put him in someone else’s jersey number and put it on the outside of the arena. That’s not our style.”

Eastern Notes: Cavs, Rautins, Heat

August 23rd, 2014 at 11:00am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Cavaliers‘ roster overhaul this offseason is reminiscent of what the Celtics did back in 2007, including obtaining a star player from the Wolves, writes Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.

Here’s more from the east:

Former Knicks second-round pick Andy Rautins has signed with Pallacanestro Varese of the Italian League, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Rautins only appeared in a total of five games for New York, averaging 1.6 PPG. His last NBA action came for the Bulls‘ Summer League team back in 2013.
If Dwyane Wade can stay healthy, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel believes that the Heat‘s roster this season is better than the one they had prior to LeBron James‘ arrival.
Former NBA player Terrel Harris has signed with Maccabi Ashdod SCE of the Israeli League, the team announced via their Facebook page (hat tip to Basketball Insiders). Harris has played for the Heat and the Pelicans, with a career average of 2.3 PPG. He spent last year in the NBA D-League, most recently with the Bakersfield Jam.

Western Notes: Heslip, Marion, Spurs

August 22nd, 2014 at 6:34pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA season won’t officially start until Tuesday, October 28th, when the Spurs begin their season against the Mavericks. An expert poll over at ESPN.com has picked San Antonio to repeat as NBA champs, with the Cavs coming in second, and the Thunder rounding out the top-three. The Heat were the last franchise to go back-to-back, winning titles in 2012 and 2013, while the Spurs have never accomplished that feat.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Wolves were impressed with undrafted point guard Brady Heslip‘s performance for their summer league team, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). Heslip recently changed agents, hiring Bernie Lee, and is attempting to land an NBA training camp invitation, Wolfson adds.
The Thunder have named Mark Daigneault as the new head coach of their D-League team, reports Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders. Daigneault spent the last four seasons as an assistant on Billy Donovan‘s staff at Florida, and replaces Darko Rajakivic who accepted a position on Scott Brooks‘ staff with the Thunder. Speaking about the hire, GM Sam Presti said, “Mark has placed a high value on development throughout his career and we feel that he is well aligned with the goals of our organization. His experience at Florida under Coach Donovan has provided him the platform to apply his intelligence and relationship skills to help strengthen the program. We are excited about Mark joining the organization and continuing his professional growth.“
When Shawn Marion left the Mavericks as a free agent this summer to sign with the Cavaliers, he did so knowing that he would come off the bench and play fewer minutes than he had in Dallas, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. In regards to Marion leaving, Mavs owner Mark Cuban said, “It’s different when you’re going back to your same team as supposed to going to a new team. I think there’s a different dynamic and different expectation.” Marion placed the opportunity to contend for a championship above monetary and playing time concerns in making his team selection, notes MacMahon.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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